Saturday, November 12, 2011

While promoting Aarakshan, the filmmaker said he was fascinated by the then ongoing corruption crusade in the country. And it makes us believe that’s the burning issue of his next social drama

According to gossipmongers, Prakash Jha, the man responsible for most of Bollywood’s issue-based films, is laying the groundwork for his next project. Most probably the project will be called Satyagraha and have Shahid Kapoor as the lead actor. Apparently, the filmmaker has sent out feelers to the Mausam actor about working together. That’s all we know for now, officially. But our speculative minds suggest that Jha is probably writing a script inspired from the recent corruption drama that occurred in the country. During the promotions of Aarakshan, Jha made a passing comment on corruption. When asked if there was any burning issue he would like to make a film on, the director replied, “The issue of corruption has taken people’s imagination. So, definitely one sees what, how and why things are happening. Why did Baba Ramdev jump the podium? It is very interesting for me to observe. So maybe, eventually, if equations change, I will probably come up with a story.” If you add to that the fact that Anna Hazare, like Mahatma Gandhi, opted for non-violence or Satyagraha to battle out corruption, we are certain that our theory is more than guesswork. Since the start of his career, Jha has woven several social dramas: Aarakshan was about caste-based reservation systerm in India,Raajneeti was about dynastic politics, and Apaharan and Gangajaal were about corruption in politics and in the police force of Bihar. It looks like Jha’s fixation with social issues will not end anytime soon. We don’t mind it, as long as it isn’t another Aarakshan!